Best mobile printers of 2018: Here our our top picks

Computers and smartphones were supposed to usher in a paper-free future. The truth is most people still need a printer for the odd physical document, especially for photos. That’s why getting the right (or the best) mobile printer is so important, even today.

Thankfully, there are a lot of small portable printers available that can be used to print documents and images from your smartphone, and we have picked the best ones that you can buy right now.

Canon Pixma iP110 wireless mobile printer

This printer came out several years ago, but not only is it still on sale, it’s still one of the best mobile printers you can buy. The Canon Pixma iP110 is pretty light at 4.7 pounds, which means you can take it on the road in case you need to do printing jobs while travelling. It can hold up to 50 sheets at once and can print both photos and documents as high as 8.5 x 11 inches.

If you need to print items from your smartphone, you can connect wirelessly to the printer, via the Canon PRINT app on Android, or Apple’s AirPrint if you own an iPhone. You can also print pictures directly from Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, One Drive, Google Drive and other services. You can even get an optional battery that will allow you to print without the need for a power outlet, up to 240 pages. All of this makes the Canon Pixma iP110 one of our best mobile printers. You can snap it up on Amazon for $189.

Epson PictureMate PM-400 wireless compact color photo printer

The Epson PictureMate PM-400 is yet another example of a portable printer that is perfect for home and office use. As the name implies, this printer is made especially for photos, and it can create great looking 4 x 6 inches and 5 x 7 inches prints of those images. You can print photos from your smartphone or tablet via WiFi, and it also lets you connect to a PC to print photos. There’s also a microSD card slot for printing photos from your digital camera, and it can even connect to a USB flash drive.

Few portable photo printers out there can handle both 4 x 6 inches and 5 x 7 inches prints, but the Epson PictureMate PM-400 can, and at 4 pounds it is also small and light enough to go anywhere. You can get it at Amazon for $200

Canon Selphy CP1200 wireless photo printer

Another photo-exclusive printer, the Canon Selphy CP1200 is even more portable; it weighs just 2.5 pounds, even with the paper and print cartridge installed. It can print photos up to 4 x 6 inches, but cannot go up to 5 x 7 inches like the Epson PictureMate. It can connect to your smartphone or tablet via WiFi to print photos from those devices, or directly from services like Facebook and Twitter.

Canon sells ink and paper kits for the Selphy that are supposed to create exactly the number of prints that are in the paper kits, so this should eliminate both the guesswork and paper and ink waste when printing your pictures. Canon sells an optional battery for the Selphy that will have enough charge to print up to 54 photos. Best of all, you can buy it from Amazon for as low as $83, making it one of the cheapest mobile printers you can buy.

HP OfficeJet 250 all-in-one portable printer

The HP OfficeJet 250 is perfect if you’re looking for a one-stop portable printer. It can handle prints of both photos and documents, and can also scan previously printed items. You can even send a fax with this printer, if you’re feeling old fashioned. All of these features are in a printer that weights 6.5 pounds. While its heavier than others on this list, you should be able to transport it in a suitcase with no issues.

In addition to printing photos and documents from your smartphone via Wi-Fi, the printer can hold about 50 sheets at once. It also has a 10-page automatic document feeder for when you just need a few pages printed. You can buy an optional battery that will print up to 500 pages on a single charge. The main issue with the HP OfficeJet 250 is its high cost. Amazon is selling it for $280, but for mobile printers that can handle pretty much any task, that is the price to pay.

Primera Trio portable all-in-one printer

If you feel that an all-in-one portable printer should weigh less than 6.5 pounds, then the Primera Trio might be for you. It comes in at just 2.6 pounds, yet can print documents and photos, scan prints, and copy documents as well.

As you might expect, the capabilities of the Primera Trio don’t quite match those of the HP Office Jet 250. It can only hold 10 pages at once, and it does not feature any Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections for wireless printing from your smartphone, although you can connect to the printer with a USB cable. You can buy an optional battery that will print up to 350 documents on a single charge. If you want to sacrifice features for more portability, you can get the Primera Trio on Amazon for the pretty high price of $359.